It is often necessary when abutting a workpiece such as a panel or a counter top or the like against a wall to be required to cut a section from the workpiece in order to make a proper fit between the workpiece and the wall. For example, when panelling a wall, the last panel to be put in place may be too wide. A portion of the panel will, therefore, be cut off along its vertical length so that it will properly abut an adjoining wall.
One method that can be used is to first determine how much wider the panel is than desired. Then, a mark is scribed down the length of the panel corresponding to this excess width. The panel is then cut along this mark. This method, however, may not be desirable in that if the adjoining wall is not straight; for example, if it is curved or otherwise uneven, the panel will not fit properly along the entire height of the adjoining wall.
To overcome this, the panel can be placed in position before it is cut with its vertical edge against the height of the adjoining wall and its other edge overlapping an adjacent panel. In the past, a compass generally has been used to scribe a line along the panel. The compass can be set so that the distance between the point on one of the legs of the compass is spaced from a scribe on the other leg of the compass a distance which corresponds to the excess width of the panel. The compass can then be run vertically down the height of the adjoining wall and the panel for providing a scribe mark on the panel. Theoretically, the scribe mark indicates the width of the panel to be cut off so that it may properly fit against the adjoining wall.
The use of a compass, however, presents several problems. Firstly, the point of the leg of the compass passing down the length of the adjoining wall can tend to become snagged, making the scribe mark uneven. Secondly, it is difficult to keep the point of the compass and scribe in a horizontal plane when running the compass down the height of the wall. Therefore, the line drawn down the panel may not accurately reflect, for its entire length, the amount of the panel desired to be cut off. Additionally, a compass is unwieldly to handle during a scribing operation and becomes increasingly more difficult to handle as the distance from the wall to the desired scribe line becomes greater, requiring the legs of the compass to be spread further apart.
Various devices in addition to a compass that can be used to scribe a line on a workpiece or the like are also provided in the art. For example, an instrument for drawing a line contiguous to another line such as a molding or piece of furniture is described in U.S. Pat. No. 1,792,393, which discloses a ruler having two inter-engaging sections that are relatively movable longitudinally and secured together for sliding extensible movement by a pair of guiding clips. Guide rest arms are provided which serve as guide rests for a paint brush or pencil or the like. Openings may also be provided in the sections or in the guide rests for rigidly holding a pencil or other member. Two arms are on one end of the device and each arm is provided with a guide roller. The guide rollers maintain rectilinear movement of the instrument relative to the edge on which the rollers bear when the instrument is in use.
It is desirable, however, to provide a scribing device that locates a scribe a desired distance from a wall and on a line from the scribe perpendicular to the wall as the device is moved down the height of the wall. This is not necessarily the case when a device such as that described in U.S. Pat. No. 1,792,393 is used because of the location of the openings relative to the guide rollers.
Another scribing device useful for scribing a line on a workpiece is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 988,950. This device comprises a shank and a handle. The shank comprises telescopic sections and the handle can be used for holding the shank sections against relative movement. A roller is provided on one end of the telescopic sections and a clip is provided on the other end for holding a pencil or crayon. There are, however, no means provided for determining the exact distance between the roller and tip of the pencil or crayon, i.e., the scribe. In fact, means for accurately determining the distance cannot be provided since the distance between the roller and the tip of the pen or crayon or the like would depend on the position of the pencil or crayon in the holder.
A scribing device is, therefore, desirable that can be moved smoothly down a wall or other surface while the scribe is easily maintained a desired distance from the wall on a line perpendicular to the wall. The desired scribing device is of durable, simple construction and is easy to manufacture.